Observational Mesoscale Context for Oceanic Turbulence Measurements Obtained during CBLAST-low

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole MA

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal requests funding for two moorings designed to provide an observational mesoscale context for oceanic turbulence measurements to be obtained during the low-wind component of the Coupled Boundary Layers and Air-Sea Transfer (CBLAST-low) experiment, which will occur during the summer and fall of 2003 at the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO). During CBLAST-low, direct oceanic measurements of turbulent fluxes and dissipation rates, together with measurements of velocity, temperature, and salinity, will be obtained at an Air-Sea Interaction Tower (ASIT), at a water depth of 15 m. The proposed additional moorings will be placed along-isobath from the ASIT, at separations of approximately 5 and 10 km, and will support bottom pressure sensors and temperature-salinity sensors at mid-depth and near the surface. The purpose of the proposed moorings is to determine the alongshore barotropic and baroclinic pressure gradients, which will permit direct estimation of the dominant terms in the along-isobath momentum equation.